Billie Jean King Joins e.l.f. Cosmetics On A Quest To ‘Serve Facts’ About Inclusivity

Back with an exciting partnership announced just in time for tennis season, e.l.f. Cosmetic’s new Billie Jean King collaboration is about so much more than just top-rated makeup products. The beloved brand and the legendary athlete are teaming up for a just-announced diversity initiative, aiming to raise awareness around a lack of women and people of color in corporate leadership positions. Through her celebrated life, King’s been an outspoken champion of gender equality, founding the Women’s Tennis Association and has consistently leveraged her success and acclaim to fight for fair treatment and representation across a range of industries. In her hilarious new campaign with e.l.f., King “serves facts” about the important — and current lack of — corporate inclusivity for a whole new generation.

Rife with clever tennis puns and one seriously still-powerful swing, King appears in three different commercial skits in which she lobs a series of balls stamped with bracing facts about just how monocultural U.S. boardrooms are. In one, for example, she cites a study showing that ethnically-diverse boards out-perform those without members of wider background range. It’s a continuation of the work to which King’s devoted her entire life, and she delivers the information in a direct, upbeat way.

“Fighting for gender equality and inclusivity has been the driving force in my life for 70 years,” King shares in a press release. “Change is often a slow process and those in positions of power can bring about change quicker. e.l.f. Beauty is leading change in the boardroom and showing us investment in equality and inclusivity will ultimately be rewarded with tangible results.”

The campaign is part of e.l.f.’s larger “Board Game” initiative, which seeks to empower companies with knowledge and information on just how important it is to truly commit to inclusivity on a higher level. The fact that King’s new partnership is perfectly timed with the anniversary of her legendary Battle Of The Sexes tennis match at the U.S. Open is no accident either. “Billie Jean King is the perfect partner for this initiative,” explains Lisa Lisa Topol, Executive Creative Director and Managing Partner at OBERLAND. “Not only is she a tireless warrior for equality in sports, but she takes the fight wherever it's needed, even if that means packing up her racket and serving some cold, hard facts in the middle of a board meeting.”

It must be said — this collaboration is another marketing grand slam by e.l.f.